Bonneted workers poring over microscopes in locations as varied as factories and pathology laboratories to find flaws in semiconductors and diseased cells may employ products of Cuyahoga Falls-based Nanotronics Imaging LLC.

The company uses proprietary computer software combined with microscopes to automate elements of the analysis of widely different materials to save time and labor, according to the nomination.

While elements of the systems may be familiar high-resolution microscopes, Nanotronics products combine them with automated turrets, other motion-control devices and a custom-built computer to speed up the review of the highly varied materials. Its proprietary software allows the process of reviewing semiconductors and medical samples to achieve elements of automation and increased details.

Two of Nanotronics' software programs are patented. One is dubbed “nPROCESS” which uses software to examine images and report data to the users. It is a one-stop shop for imaging, the nomination said, so it can capture, display and classify the images. The other is called “nCONTROL,” which refers to the combination of software and hardware used to operate and organize the system.

The co-founder and CEO of Nanotronics is Matthew Putman, who developed the concept to aid his physics and polymer research at Columbia University in New York City. He worked with Northeast Ohio engineering talent, close friends and others to launch the company. Collaborators with the company include Kent State University, the University of Akron, Columbia and the lens powerhouse Nikon.

Since Nanotronics began operations in 2010, the company has secured about $3 million in funding and in its first year of business generated revenues of more than $1 million. It already has global reach, with customers from Europe to Asia.

While the contributions Nanotronics can make in high-tech manufacturing and in medicine benefit both business and people, it takes other steps to benefit the community. For one, Nanotronics set up its headquarters in an office on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls. The company also uses several pieces of equipment locally produced at Jos-Tech Inc., of Kent, and even uses work of Ohio-based artists to decorate its headquarters.

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